“This way.”
“You have a good nose Ameriko.”
“It’s sensitive to nice fragrances, Himeno.”
Said Ameriko with a sticky smile.
“O-ou…”
Himeno was one step behind Ameriko, who walked while tying her platinum blonde hair.
They finally entered the forest. There was a path that seemed to have been traversed by people, and they followed it deeper into the forest.
“I smell ripe fruit that way.”
“Yes, so do I.”
The smell was being carried from further deep in the forest. The forest itself was surprisingly bright, and the footing was dry.
They could feel animals around them, and hear cries of what were probably birds. If they were left with no other option, they could hunt small animals for food.
They continued advancing, and at a certain point found they were too deep to be able to see the meadow when they looked back.
The path eventually led them to a bright clearing.
“Someone’s definitely been here.”
The clearing had a diameter of around fifty meters, and was illuminated from above. There were several trees that seemed to have been cut down.
“Surely there are people nearby!”
There were a lot of tree stumps and piles of logs. It was certainly a space cleared by people.
Ameriko and Himeno looked at each other and nodded. This sight gave them some hope.
“Ameriko, what is that?”
“Some kind of art object or…”
There was a structure in the middle of the clearing. It appeared to be an altar composed of thin branches, and a flag made of red cloth waved in its highest point.
They carefully approached it, and saw piles of fruit so ripe, some were beginning to rot.
“…So this is where that smell’s coming from.”
“Wait, there is a person there!”
There were also piles of fruit on top of the altar, but someone laid beneath them. Her arms and legs were bound, and she appeared to be sleeping.
“Hey! Are you okay!”
Ameriko ran towards the altar and shook said person, who opened her eyes slightly. She appeared to have been drugged.
A child placed on an altar with her limbs tightly bound by straw rope could only mean one thing. It was a sacrifice.
“So she’s a sacrifice…”
She appeared to be around ten years old, had slightly tan skin, and her blue hair reached her shoulders.
Judging from her figure, the duo assumed she was a girl, and her thin body was covered with clothes that reminded them of white sleepwear, and were made of something that seemed similar to cotton fabric.
“We have to help!”
“Wait Ameriko. We need to find out what is happening here first…”
“Fah!? What are you talking about!? She needs help! We can’t just ignore her! Robbing a kid of her freedom like this is a crime!”
“That is the law of your country, but we have no idea what this means in this world.”
“…Himeno!”
Ameriko’s expression became stern, and she angrily glared at Himeno.
“All I am saying is that we should wait before unilaterally judging if something is good or bad based on our values alone.”
Ameriko could not understand Himeno at all. She could not see any reason to hesitate before saving a child robbed of her freedom.
She was clearly in danger, regardless of why she was there. Someone had sealed her movements in a world where monsters roamed around.
“…Anyway! I’m taking these ropes off her. Help me Himeno.”
“Alright, we can talk after…”
The forest shook, a strong wind blew, and all the birds and bats around that area flew away at the same time. A terrifying roar could be heard from deeper in the forest.
Ameriko and Himeno looked around, and saw a huge shadow appearing.
It was a huge monster, that looked like a mountain gorilla stretched vertically. It was only one, but it was almost three meters tall.
Its whole body was strangely green, and its face was ugly, as though someone combined a human with a pig. Disgusting drool dripped from its mouth, and a strange liquid dripped from behind the rag that covered the lower half of its body.
“Giveeeeeeaaaaahhhh…! Femaaaaaale! Reaaaady! Heeeeere….!”
Ameriko and Himeno shuddered as they heard it howl with human words mixed in.
The pig-faced monster filled with lust was similar to a creature that usually appeared in fantasy stories, called an orc. It was a repulsive monster that could understand basic human speech, and kidnapped human females.
It squealed like a pig and moved towards the altar. Many more orcs waited under the darkness of the forest, but these seemed a lot smaller. They showed no signs that they would move, probably due to fear of angering the larger one.
“Ichiji! Femaaale! Briiiiiiiide! Fresh meaaaaaaat!”
The monster approached them with its mouth wide open and blood-shot eyes.
Ameriko and Himeno were taken aback, but came to their senses at the same time.
“I take back what I said… That is no good.”
“I agree. That thing’s an enemy of all women and children…!”
Ameriko called upon her fighting spirit, put out her right hand, and light gathered in it.
She felt heavy, cold steel in it as a black gun appeared.
“Colt M1911, government model!”
It was a weapon from a famous American gun manufacturer, with a history spanning over a century. Its tradition and reliability could be said to embody the American soul, and was part of its culture.
Its single magazine carried eight shots.
“Squeal! I take thiiiiis!”
Two heavy, explosive metallic sounds were heard, and a brownish liquid sprayed from the orc’s left shoulder and right thigh.
Its face twisted and it screamed. Its charge lost speed, but even as it stumbled, it did not stop.
“Even this gun doesn’t have enough stopping power…!”
“Ameriko, get out of the way!”
Leaving two shells on the ground, Ameriko and Himeno each dodged to one side, and evaded the charging orc.
“Shoot!”
Ameriko fired twice more while turning around.
She intended to aim for its head, but she was too close to its huge body to get the right angle. The bullets hit its arm and flank, opening two red holes.
“Gibyah!?”
45ACP was a step above the 38 caliber she previously summoned in terms of power. There was a heavy impact with every shot, but it was not enough to be fatal. This monster was nastier than a giant grizzly.
The orc kicked the ground, raising dust and sand to rob Ameriko of her vision for a moment.
“Kuh! Damn…!”
“Wifeeeee! Threeeee!”
The pig-faced monster attempted to grab Ameriko, when a gust of wind got between them.
“Sword summon…!”
The white shrine maiden attire danced in the wind, and drew a silver crescent moon .
“Gibugyaaaah…!?”
One of the orc’s arms flew into the air, and the orc drew a parabola as it sprayed blood from the elbow down.
“Himeno!”
The black haired lady in the shrine maiden attire gripped the sword in her hand.
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I like how their summoning their weapons differently with Ameriko just grabbing a gun while Japan is being all anime about it